Nepali Festival – Tihar

Tihar, second biggest festival in Nepal, is a five-day festival celebrated in late autumn. It is unique in terms of how people celebrate it. One of these days incorporates the Hindu festival Deepavali so it is also called the festival of lights. It also incorporates one of the Nepali community’s New Year (called Nepal Sambat). This festival is also known as ‘Panchak Yama’ which means five days of the underworld lord Yama or Yamaraj.

What makes it unique is the fact that Hindu worship everything including every living beings. It may be due to the notion that when you can’t explain something you worship them. Apart from worshiping crow, dog, and cow people worship themselves too. The final day of the festival is devoted to worshiping brothers and sisters for their long lives. Here is how the five days are celebrated:
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Laxmi Prasad Devkota – Nepali Mahakavi

Gifted poet Laxmi Prasad Devkota born on the festival of the Goddess of wealth “Laxmi Puja” and so named as a present from the Goddess Laxmi. But he turned out to be wealthier in knowledge and wisdom rather than in money and riches. He was known as Mahakabi, the great poet, and lived and died a poor man.

If you want to read some of his great poems – click here to read some in English translation, some in Nepali

Unwanted uncared letterbox

The (still) standing letterbox.

This is one of those letterboxes in Kathmandu valley have survived numerous vandalism. Should have been ages since it received any mails in its tummy or a mailman paid a visit. There were times when it used to be full of post cards, letters to loved ones and a mailman would empty it regularly. That’s a distant history.

Looks like it is waiting for somebody to come by and worship with flowers and aabir (Nepali have strange habit of worshiping anything that is as useless as it is). If somebody tips over a protruding stone you can be damn sure the stone will be worshiped for being one of those 33 million gods. I wish somebody will tip over this metal box someday and we start placing an idol in it and worship.

Now Hiring

Nepali Movie – Maiti (Maitee)

Nepali Movie – Maitee
Starring : Shree Krishna Shrestha, Niruta Singh, Jal Shah, Sunil Thapa, Maya Pradhan, Shrisha Karki etc.
Producer : Suraj Pradhan
Writer, Director : Anil Sangraula
Musician : Laxman Shesh
Cinematography : Gautam Shrestha
Action : Rajendra Khadgi
Dance : Raju Shah
Singers : Udit Narayan Jha, Deepa Jha
Shooting Started : 1999
Release : 2000
Update with YouTube videos (full movie, single part)
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Charles Sobhraj married Nihita Biswas in Kathmandu

Murder convict Charles Sobhraj on Wednesday tied the knot with his 20-year-old Nepali fiancée, Nihita Biswas, on the day of Bada Dashain, greatest festival in Nepal. Nihita, 44 years younger than Charles, married in the jail where he is kept, after being sentenced to life imprisonment in July 2004.

There was no priest though the bride’s brother and mother Shakuntala Thapa turned up to show their support. Thapa, a leading lawyer, is also fighting Sobhraj’s case in Supreme Court, challenging a lower court decision that declared him guilty of the murder of an American backpacker, Connie Jo Bronzich, in 1975. (indiatimes)

Sobhraj has in the past admitting to killing several Western tourists, and is serving a life sentence for killing a Canadian tourist in Katmandu in 1975.

Agreed, love is blind and love doesn’t see the barrier of age, sex or anything. But loving and marrying a killer with approval of a lawyer mother looks a bit fishy! Many questions remain unanswered like – how could a girl fall in love with a man so famous for killing women? Or how could they fall for each other in mere few visits of 20 minutes each?

It it Charles making some plans and Nihita being used? Or is it like Charles want to settle down and Nihita want to enjoy the sudden limelight?

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Happy Vijaya Dashami 2065

New Living Goddess in Nepal

The last Kumari, the Living Goddess, who retired recently was sort of a rebel in the age old Nepali tradition of worshiping little girls as goddess.

Amidst child right groups’ objection on the tradition itself, three and half year old Matina Shakya has become the new Kumari. She has become the first Kumari who was shown to the general public without being observed by the King. Traditionally Kings used to worship Kumari before she was shown to the public.
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Dangerous airport – 18 killed in a crash

The Lukla airport, (Tenzing-Hillary airport) in the eastern Nepal is considered one of the world’s most dangerous airports.

In today’s news, a Yeti Airlines plane crashed during landing at the airport killing at least 14 passengers, mostly tourists. It is told that the sole survivor is a Nepali passenger.

The airport is located at an elevation of 9,380ft (2,860m) and is popular with mountaineers and trekkers heading for expeditions in the Himalayas.

Following video shows how a plane lands and takes off in the airport (it’s not a crash video!).

Nepali Movie – Tribeni

Rajkumar Rai presents
Nepali movie – Tribeni
Starring - Sushil Chhetri, Melina Manandhar, Jharana Bajracharya, Rabi Shah, Mukunda Shrestha, Rajaram Poudel etc.
Director – Mahendra Budhathoki
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New Guinness Record – Longest Marathon Reading

Deepak Sharma Bajgain, 23, has been included in the Guinness Book of World Record for reading continuously for 121 hours. He made the new world record during The Longest Marathon Reading, a program organized in Kathmandu by The Readers Club from Sept. 19 to 24, as reported in Kantipur daily.

Bajgain continuously read different books in the presence of distinguished personalities from different sectors for 121 hours in Khula Manch in the heart of Kathmandu. Eighty judges were present in three- hour shifts to observe Bajgain. Destination Overseas Consultant Pvt. Ltd., Chaudhary Group and Everest Insurance sponsored the program. Health workers from Bir Hospital, Nepal Medical Association, and Nepal Nursing Association were also present throughout the recital to monitor the condition of Bajgain.

Adrian Hilton of England had set the previous world record in 1987 by reading a Shakespearean masterpiece continuously for 110 hours and 46 minutes.